Champagne is one of the elegant extras in life

Saturday, Shelley and I headed to Reims about 45 minutes by train from Paris and located in Champagne. Our first stop was Notre-Dame de Reims which was built between 1211 and 1516. Starting with Louis I all of the French Kings were crowned here except for Louis VI and Henri VI. The Gothic style Cathedral's size and grandeur were exceptional. Sadly, part of the outside was under construction, but they had a small replica inside to see the exterior detail we missed. During WWI the Cathedral was heavily bombed destroying the exterior, stained glass windows and statues. Through major donations, notably by John D. Rockefeller, the Cathedral was repaired. Through these restorations you can see a mix of the original stained glass windows and newer more modern ones from Artists such as Marc Chagall and Bridgette Simon.

Notre-Dame de Reims

We then headed to lunch which finished just in time for our Veuve Cliquot Champagne Tour. Veuve Cliquot was founded in 1772 by Phillippe Cliquot Muiron who's goal was to have his champagne cross all borders. Phillippe's son, François, married Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Cliquot, but he tragically died a few short years later, leaving Barbe-Nicole a widow at 27. The family was unsure what to do with the business but Madame Cliquot decided she would take it over, becoming one of the first business women of modern times. During her tenure she changed the name of the brand to Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin or Veuve Cliquot as we know it, meaning "Widow" Cliquot. Madame Cliquot was instrumental in growing the business while ensuring that their ideas of innovation and quality stayed central to the business.

The main symbol of the brand is the anchor, the Christian Symbol for hope & rigor. When Veuve Cliquot started labels did not yet exist and the anchor was branded onto the bottom of the cork to differentiate between brands. The VCP on the anchor stands for Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin. The hexagonal shape surrounding the initials and anchor represents the comet of 1811 that is said to have predicted the excellent harvest that year. In the 1860s the house added a label its bottle and the "yellow" color was chosen. Over the years the yellow became darker as a way to distinguish the bottle in the dark cellars. Lastly, the muselet, the wire cage that fits over the cork, has the portrait of Madame Cliquot, in her 80s, as a testament to her hard work and dedication in growing the brand.

Veuve Cliquot Journal and one of the original labels

After the history of the house, we headed down into the crayéres, or the champagne caves, 25 meters underground. The Veuve Cliquot crayéres were built during the Middle Ages and have quite the history! Each shape of the crayere is different as they were excavated not for storage but for the chalk for building materials. Over 400 crayéres exist underground for Veuve Cliquot alone! After the Middle Ages, bandits, who didn't want to pay taxes on imported goods would attempt to cross the city borders underground. Then during the World Wars they were used as shelters, tunnels and mini cities. The writing on the walls still exists, such as numbers and even red crosses for the hospital! Today, the labyrinth of crayéres are perfect for champagne production. They are dark and cool, keeping the 10-11 degree Celsius temperature needed year-round for champagne production no matter the weather outside. The Chalk walls also act as a giant sponge absorbing the moisture and providing the necessary humidity.

In the crayéres

With our crayére tour completed we were able to enjoy a glass of Champagne. A bottle of the Veuve Cliquot Brut, takes up to 3 years to create, and definitely not that long to drink! Champagne consists of a blend of different wines in order to give it its complex blend. The Brut consists of a minimum of 50% but upwards of 60% Pinor Noir, 30-35% Chardonnay and up to 40% reserves. In order to keep the champagne consistent from year to year up to 40% of the Veuve Cliquot mixture is reserve wines from previous harvests.

Post Tour

* Title quote by Charles Dickens

Belleau Wood

After a weekend touring the D-Day beaches and the North of France with my parents, I came back to Paris and they went on to Champagne. However, I was able to take Friday off and jumped on an early morning train to Château-Thierry My parents met me at the station and we headed to the Château-Thierry American Monument and the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery located in Belleau Wood. 

Old home in Belleau

The Belleau area is very important to the US Marines, especially my brother's regiment, the 3/6, which fought there. The battle was significant because it stopped the German advance to Paris, only about an hour's drive away. More Marines were killed in action and wounded on the first day of the battle of Belleau Wood (1,087) than in all previous engagements combined. However, the battle not only proved the embodiment of the USMC through their determination and dedication but was also the catalyst for the Marine Corps we know today.

The Château-Thierry American Monument commemorates the soldiers who fought in the region during WWI. Located on a hill, it provides striking views of its surroundings. The Monument's inscriptions are in both French and English and they tell the story of the battles fought in the region. On the front of the memorial is the American Eagle and a large map that depicts the battles in the area. 

Château-Thierry American Monument

We then headed to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery. This cemetery was smaller than Normandy but very moving. The Aisne-Marne cemetery is located on the foot of the hill where the Battle of Belleau was fought and those who are laid to rest died at the Battle of Belleau and the Battle of Chateau Thierry. That morning I was able to pick up roses so that we could lay them by some of the graves. 

The Cemetery & the Chapel's stained glass windows

A Memorial Chapel is located in the center of the cemetery with the name of all those who have not been found inscribed on the walls. Walking into the chapel and being surrounded by all of their names was very powerful.

Panoramic of the inside of the chapel

 
Located not far from the cemetery is the Devil Dog Fountain at Belleau. When the Marines took Belleau Wood from the Germans in June 1918, the Germans had begun to call them Teufelhunden or "Devil Dogs," a name that is still used today. When the Marines entered the deserted village they found the bull dog fountain with fresh water. The fountain helped solidify the devil dogs name and their mascot, a bull dog in a WWI helmet was born. Legend has that if a Marine drinks from the fountain he will gain 20 years to his life. We obviously bottled some water up for James to drink! 

With the Bull dog fountain

After our tour of Belleau and the surrounding area we headed back to Paris for the night. The rest of the weekend went quickly! We spent the rest of the day and all day Saturday walking around. Sadly, my parents didn't get to enjoy Spring time in Paris weather, as it poured, but a little rain never hurts, right?! My parents left Sunday morning after their last French breakfast of croissants and coffee. I really enjoyed our trip and loved having them here! See you both in a few short months on the other side of the pond!

Saturday night in Paris